The Xbox 360 celebrated its 10th birthday in November of last year. As a member of the seventh generation of video game consoles, and the second console in the Xbox series, it has overseen a decade featuring everything from the advent of the Kinect to the “red ring of death,” and redesigns including the “S” and “E” models. Now, the era is taking its first steps towards closure.
In post brimming with nostalgia on the Xbox news website, Head of Xbox Phil Spencer announced that Microsoft has decided to cease the production of new Xbox 360 consoles. Existing inventory will continue to be sold, with availability varying by country.
According to Spencer, Xbox 360 players have racked up over 78 billion gaming hours, 486 billion Gamerscore, with 27 billion achievements and over 25 billion hours spent in apps. He sang the praises of franchises like Gears of War and Halo, particularly the growth they experienced during this particular generation.
Spencer stressed that Xbox Live services will still be available for Xbox 360 owners, including online multiplayer and access to apps such as Netflix, along with Games with Gold and Deals with Gold. Servers will also remain online and active, games will still be available for purchase while supplies last, and hardware will continue to receive support from the official Xbox website. This will also have no effect on the Backwards Compatibility program for Xbox One players.
Spencer also promised future announcements “for gaming on Xbox One, Windows 10, and beyond” – an exciting promise with E3 2016 looming on the horizon.